Psychokinesis (film)
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| Psychokinesis | |
|---|---|
.jpg) Theatrical release poster | |
| Hangul | 염력 |
| Hanja | 念力 |
| RR | Yeomnyeok |
| MR | Yŏmnyŏk |
| Directed by | Yeon Sang-ho |
| Written by | Yeon Sang-ho |
| Produced by | Kim Yeon-ho |
| Starring | Ryu Seung-ryong Shim Eun-kyung Park Jeong-min Kim Min-jae Jung Yu-mi |
| Cinematography | Byun Bong-sun |
| Edited by | Yang Jin-mo |
| Music by | Jang Young-gyu |
Production company | Redpeter Film |
| Distributed by |
|
Release date |
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Running time | 101 minutes |
| Country | South Korea |
| Language | Korean |
| Box office | US$7 million[2] |
Psychokinesis (Korean: 염력; RR: Yeomnyeok) is a 2018 South Korean superhero film written and directed by Yeon Sang-ho.[3][4][5] The film stars Ryu Seung-ryong, Shim Eun-kyung, Park Jeong-min, Kim Min-jae and Jung Yu-mi in the lead roles.[6][7] This is director Yeon Sang-ho's second live-action film, following his live-action debut Train to Busan in 2016. It is the first South Korean superhero film, and revolves around a bank security guard who gains telekinetic superpowers after drinking water from a mountain spring affected by a meteor, and decides to use them for saving his estranged daughter and her neighborhood from an evil construction company.
Psychokinesis was released on January 31, 2018 in South Korean theaters, in both 2D as well as ScreenX formats.[8] The film was later on made available to stream globally on Netflix starting April 25, 2018.
Shin Roo-mi runs a successful fried chicken restaurant in Seoul. She becomes involved in a real estate battle with a mob-run construction company, Tae-san. The company plans to demolish her small business and construct a large shopping center for Chinese tourists. One night while Roo-mi is forcibly evicted from her shop by hired thugs, her mother is killed in the violent clash. Later in the hospital, the death of Roo-mi's mother is interspersed with shots of a falling meteor.
Seok-heon, Roo-mi's estranged father, a seemingly happy-go-lucky security guard who engages in petty theft, gains telekinetic powers after he drinks water from a mountain spring hit by the meteor. Roo-mi contacts Seok-heon to inform him of his former wife's death and subsequent funeral. There he witnesses a confrontation between Roo-mi and President Min, who manages Tae-san's operations. Min attempts to compensate Roo-mi for her loss, but she furiously refuses and demands that he leave the premises. Seok-heon learns more about the turf war from Kim Jung-hyun, a young attorney representing the legal interests of Roo-mi and the other local shop owners. Seok-heon tries to reconnect with Roo-mi, but she is still hurt by his abandonment of her as a child. When he later tries to demonstrate his newfound ability, Roo-mi accuses Seok-heon of being an irresponsible parent.
The shop owners join Roo-mi in a shared legal battle against Tae-san, as they have been refused compensation for the loss of their businesses. While they barricade themselves in a shopping arcade, Tae-san's thugs arrive and begin assaulting them. Seok-heon arrives and uses his powers to fight off the assailants, leaving everybody around him in shock and wonder. When Min attempts to report the events to the police, the officer on duty does not believe him, much to the shop owners' amusement and delight.
Seok-heon further uses his telekinesis to build a large barricade around the market area, protecting the local businesses. Meanwhile, Min meets up with Director Hong, the owner of Tae-san who is aware of Seok-heon's powers. She orders Min to start another company under a different name and draw up a new contract to legally demolish the local businesses. She uses her connections to gain support from the police and creates a diversion by having Seok-heon arrested under false charges. After removing Seok-heon from the situation, Min and his thugs order the riot police to destroy the barricade and arrest the shop owners. Roo-mi and the shop owners flee to a nearby building with the police in pursuit.
After seeing the situation on the news, Seok-heon breaks out of his jail cell and musters the ability to fly. He arrives at the site just as the shop owners reach the rooftop of another building and the SWAT team arrives via a portable building suspended on a crane. They capture Roo-mi and drag her into the suspended building. Unfortunately, the crane malfunctions and Roo-mi falls out. Seok-heon swoops in and saves her, before leaving her in the care of the escaped shop owners. He confronts Min, who is in attendance with the riot police, and punches him unconscious before turning himself in to the police.
Four years later, Seok-heon is released from prison and is picked up by Jung-hyun, who announces his engagement to Roo-mi. They visit the location where Roo-mi's restaurant used to be, which is now an empty and unoccupied plot; Jung-hyun explains that Tae-san's project was ultimately not profitable and construction has been delayed. They arrive at Roo-mi's new restaurant, where Seok-heon reunites with his daughter and the local shop owners. He then uses his powers to serve drinks to the customers, much to everyone's delight. It is then revealed that Roo-mi named her new restaurant, "Superpower Chicken".
Cast
- Ryu Seung-ryong as Shin Seok-heon
- Shim Eun-kyung as Shin Roo-mi
- Go Na-hee as young Shin Roo-mi
- Park Jeong-min as Kim Jung-hyun
- Kim Min-jae as President Min
- Jung Yu-mi as Director Hong
- Yoo Seung-mok as Mr. Kim
- Lee Jeong-eun as Mr. Kim's wife
- Kim Young-sun as Roo-mi's mom
- Ye Soo-jung as Mr. Jeong's sister
- Ham Sung-min as Small worker
- Shim So-young as Evicted resident
- Tae Hang-ho as President Min's subordinate
Production
Filming began on April 17, 2017 and ended on August 6, 2017, in Chuncheon, Gangwon Province.[9]
Release
Rated 15 by the Korea Media Rating Board,[10][11] the film was released theatrically in South Korea on January 31, 2018. It was later distributed globally by Netflix starting April 25, 2018.
